I have never met Giuseppa Bazzucchi, but somehow I felt its presence and strength. I spent the evening with Massimiliano Dragoni (his grandson) struggling with the Checcaccio ointment, elderberry ointment, telling me about his grandmother and their special relationship. It was and still is taking place in some remote areas of the earth that shamanic medicine replaces traditional medicine, especially out of necessity. Thus, on the Umbrian Apennines between Gualdo Tadino and Assisi, in times not so remote, it was not easy for doctors to reach the mountain, consequently an alternative organization was organized. Giuseppa Bazzucchi known as Peppa del Bartolo, a woman of ingenuity and strength, in addition to acting as a midwife for the parturents of her community, she took care of the health of her fellow citizens through 'natural folk medicine' and through practices and rituals that recall worlds and cultures distant. Peppa del Bartolo Lived between the two world wars, the fascist dictatorship and the Nazi-fascist occupation, Peppa was one of those women who did not hesitate to roll up their sleeves and trot. Of the time spent with his grandmother, Massimiliano keeps anecdotes, tales of unspeakable hardness, but above all esteem and admiration, a woman who, partly out of necessity, partly by virtue, became a reference point for an entire community. And this is perhaps one of the reasons why Massimiliano (musician and great lover of history and traditions of his land) has developed the need to tell it in a beautiful book ("La pomata de Checcaccio") with testimonies about his hard life and intense, then instead of putting to waste what she learned about health care and natural remedies, she macerates the elder bark inherited and proudly guarded every year in late summer, to make it once again become the Checcaccio ointment. "Since there is no longer a grandmother, her friends and fellow villagers come to see me as they went to pick up their essential pomade," he explains.

The preparation To prepare the prodigious ointment, elderberry must be harvested in September; separate the bark and put it, together with some leaves, in an envelope to keep it. The moment elderberry starts the maceration phase, it is ready. Olive oil, honey and beeswax The oil is boiled with elderberry, wax and three tablespoons of honey; once boiled, the fire goes out and another saucepan is prepared with water at room temperature. Pour the contents of the saucepan into the container with water, filtering the elderberry, wash the formed content and remove the water; the operation is repeated nine times. Nine in the Christian religion corresponds to the perfect number 'three' multiplied by itself. Uses Used for insect bites, acne, skin problems of the feet, hemorrhoids, wounds, infections, and inflammations in the throat, the Checcaccio ointment - which takes its name from the one who started to pass it on orally, or the matchmaker Checco de Biagioni of Santa Maria di Lignano - "if you want you can also eat it". With this joke after a "try it", Massimiliano replied when I asked him if it could be used for example for severe itching ... being a totally natural product. Last heir Massimiliano has probably remained the last heir of this recipe, at least the only one to make it according to the rules and ritual handed down by the matchmaker of Santa Maria. So it happens and it is repeated that one evening at the end of September, in a small stone village closed between walls, the scent of elderberry indicates the direction at the foot of Assisi. Every year, behind a window on the roadside, grandmother Peppa returns, her tales, her memory, her skilful hands live in those walls where between the steaming pots and a nice glass of beer Massimiliano renews the magic.